http://www.cobizmag.com/ en lryckman@cobizmag.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-07T11:09:51+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/a-gourmet-grocery-well-done/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/a-gourmet-grocery-well-done/#When:07:02:54Z Tony’s Meats was born in 1978 shortly after Tony Rosacci and his 13-year-old son Daniel passed a shuttered 7-Eleven on East Dry Creek Road in what is now Centennial. “Boy,” said Daniel, “that’d be a good place for a butcher shop, Dad.” A few days later Tony Rosacci, who to that point had spent most of his 38 years cutting meat or managing someone else’s meat departments in Detroit, Los Angeles and Denver, wrote a postdated check to secure a lease on the storefront with money he didn’t have, thinking - hoping -… Featured Story, Magazine Articles, Small Biz 2012-02-01T07:02:54+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/colorado-business-hall-of-fame-2012/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/colorado-business-hall-of-fame-2012/#When:07:01:17Z A crisp, cold beer in a silver can. A world-class bottle of cabernet sauvignon. A plush micro-fiber sofa sleeper. A down-filled leather après ski jacket. Investment capital to take your business to the next level. Get to know this year’s Colorado Business Hall of Fame laureates, and you might be able to take care of some of your most pressing wants and needs. Now in its 23st year, the Colorado Business Hall of Fame pays tribute to the state’s business leaders while promoting free enterprise and community service. This year’s class includes brewing executive Pete Coors; oil and gas veteran… Featured Story, Magazine Articles 2012-01-01T07:01:17+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/ceo-of-the-year-john-horan/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/ceo-of-the-year-john-horan/#When:07:01:58Z   John Horan often tells employees to think of their job like landing an airplane. The surface on which they’re touching down is not a hard, physical surface, but an emotional, often delicate one. “We don’t get a second chance to get it right,” says Horan, the CEO and president of Horan & McConaty, a fifth-generation provider of funeral and cremation services in the Denver area. “Our mission is to provide unsurpassed levels of compassion and professionalism during some of the most difficult and painful times in people’s lives. We have to get everything… Featured Story, Magazine Articles 2011-12-01T07:01:58+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/colorado-sustainable-design-awards/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/colorado-sustainable-design-awards/#When:07:01:01Z Editor’s note: The Colorado Sustainable Design Awards recognize outstanding design in residential, civic and commercial properties, and - new this year - interior design. Since establishing the awards three years ago, we’ve seen outstanding innovations in sustainable building. But that hasn’t stopped our judges from wanting to see architects, developers and building contractors set the bar higher, particularly when it comes to cost and whether those innovations can be adapted for widespread use. This year’s judging panel includes returning judges Joshua Radoff, principal,
YRG Sustainability Consultants; Conor Merrigan, high performance building program manager, Colorado Governor’s Energy Office; and Susan Powers, president,
Urban… Featured Story, Magazine Articles 2011-11-01T07:01:01+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/rare-earth-rising/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/rare-earth-rising/#When:07:01:58Z An obscure mineral with a long and colorful mining history in Colorado may be reemerging as an element critical to the widespread use of solar and wind power. At the same time, it introduces a bit of a quandary for environmentalists seeking a clean and renewable energy future.  The substance is vanadium, long used as a metal alloy that improves the strength and elasticity of steel. Though Colorado once produced much of the world’s vanadium, U.S. markets now import almost all of it from Africa.  For the past… Featured Story, Magazine Articles, Planet-Profit 2011-09-01T07:01:58+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/best-companies-to-work-for-in-colorado-2011/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/best-companies-to-work-for-in-colorado-2011/#When:07:01:26Z It’s tough to be considered a “Best Company,” so ending up at or near the top consistently is truly something to
be celebrated. Of this year’s top finishers in the small, medium and large company category of Best Companies to Work for in Colorado, all
three have previously hit No. 1 or No. 2. Congratulations to IP5280 Communications, ReadyTalk and Edward Jones. The level of consistency of this year’s winners makes it clear their selection is hardly an anomaly. It’s no secret some companies that earn kudos for being a great place to work have employees shaking their heads, says Mark Stelzner,… Featured Story, Magazine Articles 2011-08-01T07:01:26+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/50-colorado-companies-to-watch/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/50-colorado-companies-to-watch/#When:07:01:18Z You might recognize a few of the companies among this year’s Colorado Companies to Watch, but for the most part, you’ll be scratching your head. Who? What? In Colorado? That’s the point. When Penny Lewandowski and her colleagues with the Edward Lowe Foundation try to sell economic development types on the Companies to Watch program, they guarantee potential organizers they will learn about thriving businesses in their state they did not know existed. That’s certainly been true for all three years of the Colorado program, at least as far as this magazine is concerned. Sure, we should know where the… Featured Story, Magazine Articles, Home, Small Biz 2011-06-01T07:01:18+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/treasure-hunt/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/treasure-hunt/#When:07:01:23Z Framed photos taken with U.S. presidents, stacks of trade magazines, native artwork collected from international travel. The memorabilia that adorns the walls and shelves in a small conference room in Alex Cranberg’s Denver headquarters for Aspect Energy is typical of a successful executive.   Except for that box of Rice Krispies. And that chicken mask. Like any mementos someone chooses to personalize their workspace, there are stories attached to them. The touch of Snap! Crackle! Pop! - a prop from a TV commercial Cranberg appeared in when he was a teenager - and the chicken headgear - which we’ll
get to in… Featured Story, Magazine Articles 2011-05-01T07:01:23+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/branding-colorado/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/branding-colorado/#When:15:01:42Z In 2008, the Colorado Tourism Office decided to find out what folks in other parts of the country thought of the state as a destination vacation spot. Marketing research firm Corona Insights conducted interviews in and around New York, Atlanta and San Diego with people who expressed interest in a visit to Colorado but hadn’t been there within the last five years ... if ever. No doubt some Coloradans might argue the results simply reveal that the interviewees were, for the most part, a bunch of lost balls… Featured Story, Magazine Articles, Travel/A&E 2011-04-01T15:01:42+00:00 http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/delivering-for-four-generations/ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/delivering-for-four-generations/#When:07:01:45Z William Johnson and his family were enjoying a mid-day meal on New Year’s Day, 1900, when they heard a strange noise outside on Second Avenue and Broadway. Hustling down from their second-story residence, William and his wife, his in-laws and their children dashed downstairs and outside to the street. The source of the commotion: two steam-powered automobiles, rumbling south down Broadway. “They all thought it was the neatest thing they’d ever seen,” Mark Johnson says. “All except my great-grandfather. He was a blacksmith and wagon builder. It was… Featured Story, Magazine Articles, Small Biz 2011-02-01T07:01:45+00:00